


Instinct

by kryptonianmenace



Category: DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:48:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23291956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kryptonianmenace/pseuds/kryptonianmenace
Summary: A reflection on Tim and Damian reacting on instinct when hearing people insult their least favorite sibling.
Kudos: 103





	Instinct

**Author's Note:**

> Rated T for mentions of a slur.

Even after nearly a decade of working with Bruce Wayne, and over half of that time being Bruce’s adopted son, twenty-two year old Tim Drake still struggled to wrap his head around the fact that he was considered family.

He still avoided calling Bruce his dad, more to avoid the awkwardness than anything, though the fact remained that just the thought of Jack Drake kept him from seeing Bruce as anything other than the man who took him in and trained him. He had also long gotten used to Dick referring to him as a brother, but somehow it still surprised Tim when he himself used the term.

With the others, it was more difficult. Cass was the sister he never knew he wanted, and Duke was a much-appreciated source of positivity in the Wayne household, but he still felt disconnected from them at times. Barbara would always be the one he looked up to, but not in a sibling kind of way. No matter what was up between her and Dick at any given moment, Tim still thinks of her as Dick’s much cooler and competent, on-again-off-again (ex-)girlfriend. In the same vein, things with Steph were, well… They were things with Steph. She wasn’t a sister to him and just the thought of it felt wrong.

His relationships with Jason and Damian were littered with burnt bridges from all sides. Of course, over the years they were all putting in their best efforts to be less hostile, for the sake of everyone involved. It was easier with Jason, who Tim had looked up to before becoming Robin. Even after all that had happened, the memory of that childish idolization was hard to ignore.

With Damian, it was harder. The foundation of their relationship was built on a minefield and though there were fewer set-backs over the years, there were still set-backs to be had. They had their moments and Tim definitely wanted to improve on what they had, but the fact that they were legally brothers was still a hard concept to grasp.

That is, it was a hard concept to grasp when he wasn’t reacting instinctively.

“What the fuck, you ass!” The entire café turned to stare at the college student now covered in Tim’s bowl of soup du jour (some vegan thing that Damian had dared him into ordering and he couldn’t remember the name of) as he stood to yell at the offending soup’s owner.

“I would apologize, but you’re obviously racist so you probably deserved that,” Tim said, shrugging. “In fact, I think you should apologize.”

“What’s going on now?” Damian asked, exasperation leaking from his tone as he made his way over from the counter.

“This piece of shit was just about to apologize for being a racist ass about you,” Tim said, grinning at the seething college student.

“I don’t need you to fight my battles, Drake,” Damian said later, once they were seated and the college student was gone.

Tim shrugged. “I didn’t think about it. It just happened.”

“That’s no excuse,” Damian said, crossing his arms.

“It’s not meant to be, brat,” Tim said. “I would do it for anyone. But at the same time, we’re family, I guess. It’s especially important to me that I stick up for you.”

Damian scoffed and grabbed his drink off the table. “Whatever.”

* * *

Damian had firm ideas of family from a young age.

Mother, Father, Grandfather. That’s it. No one else.

Well, you could count the League of Shadows as a gaggle of aunts and uncles and cousins, as messed up as it may sound.

Moving in with Bruce made his family grow in unexpected ways.

Alfred was like a bizarre grandfather, who wasn’t actually related and didn’t claim to be.

Dick was the closest thing Damian had to a brother, if he really sat down and thought about it, and even then, it was a large age gap. Dick didn’t live with them, so Damian only saw him when he visited.

He supposed Duke and Cassandra should count, since they still lived in the manor and were on pleasant enough terms with him, but at the same time, they were distant.

Jason was never around, and when he was they didn’t get along.

And where to start with Tim?

Tim, who he had tried to kill multiple times. Tim, who he fought with on a daily basis.

Tim, who stood up for him even when he couldn’t hear what was being said.

Tim, who his classmate just called a fag.

Damian slammed his classmate down to the desk instinctively.

“We don’t approve of that kind of language,” Damian said, voice eerily calm. “Now, apologize for calling my brother a slur, and take your bigoted ass home.”

“He’s not even here!” the classmate protested. “He’s not even your real brother!”

Damian pressed down harder on the classmate, bringing out cries of pain. “Apologize.”

Later that day, when he met up with Tim for their shared coffee break, he grunted out “People need to stop commenting on our social lives.”

Tim raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his drink. “Get used to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> [Check out my tumblr!](https://haljordanisbatman.tumblr.com/)


End file.
